Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Lebohang Mohlamme and Afrikaans soundbite by Cllr Paul Kotzé. See attached pictures here and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will closely monitor the delayed sanitation project in Ward 32, Botshabelo, Mangaung and demand clear answers from the responsible authorities on when work will begin, how the project will be implemented, and what measures will be put in place to ensure transparency, fairness, and proper maintenance.
The DA welcomes any genuine initiative aimed at improving community sanitation and restoring dignity to residents who have suffered for far too long under inhumane and outdated bucket-system toilets. Access to safe and proper sanitation is not a favour from the government; it is a basic human right and a core responsibility of a municipality that claims to care about its people. For more than 200 households expected to benefit from this project, modern sanitation infrastructure could bring meaningful relief after years of indignity, health risks, and neglect.
However, the DA is deeply concerned that, although the project was expected to start last month, there has been no visible progress. Equipment has reportedly been placed at a designated storage site, but residents continue to wait while their daily living conditions remain unacceptable. Every delay means families are forced to continue using unsafe and undignified sanitation facilities, exposing them to infections, health hazards, and environmental risks. This is not only a failure of basic service delivery; it is a violation of human dignity.
Mangaung residents have seen too many projects announced with promises, only for them to collapse due to poor planning, weak oversight, political interference, maladministration, or lack of maintenance after completion. The DA will not allow this sanitation project to become another failed government promise. The community deserves a project that is completed on time, implemented properly, and maintained sustainably.
We demand that the Provincial Department of CoGTA provide a clear implementation plan, realistic timelines, details on the number of households that will benefit, and transparent reporting on expenditures and contractor performance. We will also insist that the process must be fair and free from cadre deployment, nepotism, corruption, or any attempt by the ANC to use basic services as an election tool.
The dignity of Mangaung residents cannot be compromised by half-measures, political grandstanding, or empty promises. Sanitation must be delivered fairly, transparently, and with urgency.